Lather mixing machine



Patented Mar. 14, 1944 2,344,170 Lafrnan MIXING MACHINE Melvin Rolstadand Harry E.k Cullen,

Minneapolis, Minn., .assignors to Rolstad Manufacturing Company,Minneapolis, Minn., a partnership Application April 21, 1941, Serial No.389,630

8 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in lather mixingmachines and more particularly to machines of the type disclosed 'inkthe patent to Melvin Rolstad, No. 2,057,791.

An object of the present invention is to provide a streamlined lathermixing machine comprising a novel soap holding and feeding means andalso a novel means for controlling the supply of water to the latherchamber whereby the water is delivered into the lower portion of thelather chamber remote from the motor.

A further and more specic object of lthe invention is to provide alather mixing machine comprising a casing having a Water chamber in itsupper portion, and a lather chamber provided in the lower portion of thecasing having means for supporting a conventional bar or cake of soap,said water chamber having a conduit leading therefrom to the lowerportion of the lather chamber and a rotary brush-like agitator mountedin the lather chamber adapted to contact water in the bottom of saidchamber and to engage a surface of the soap bar with a brushing action,thereby to produce additional lather each time the machine is operatedto dispense a small quantity f lather.

A further object of the invention resides in the novel means providedfor operating the water control valve which comprises a U-shaped memberhaving one leg depending into the water chamber from the upper portionthereof and positioned to engage and open the Water valve, the other legof said member being operatively connected to the control lever forstarting the agitator, wherebyv each time the agitator is started, saidU -shaped member will engage and tem-A porarily open the Water valve topermit a small quantity of water to be admitted into the lather chamber.

Other objects reside in the novell arrangement and construction of thewater conduit leading from the 'water chamber to the lather chamber,whereby the water is delivered into the lower portion vof the latherchamber; in the novel means provided in the lather chamber forsupporting a bar of soap, whereby the soap is automatically fed into thelather chamber, as the 'bar of soap is worn away by engagement with therotary agitator mounted in the lather chamber; in the provision of alather mixing machine comprising a molded housing having waterandr'lather chambers integrally formed therein and provided with asuitable cover member, whereby the entire housing may be manufactured atsmall cost; and, in the simple and inexpensive construction of themachine, whereby it readily lends itself for quantity production atsmallA cost, and whereby it may be sold to the trade at a moderateprice.

Other objects of the invention will appear from `the followingdescription and accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in theannexed claims.

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structuredesigned to carry outthe various objects of the invention, but it is tobe understood thaty the invention is not Vc'oiuin'ed to the exactfeatures shown as various changes may be made within the scope of theclaims which follow.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevational view showing the generalconstruction of the machine Figure 2 is a bottom View of Figure 1 withthe bottom of the lather chamber removed to show the brush membermounted therein;

Figure 3 isk an end view of Figure `1, partially broken away;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional View on the Aline 4 4 of Figure l, showingthe water valve operat. ing member;

Figure is a detail sectionalview on the line 5--5 of Figure. 1, showingthe means for automatically feeding the soap into the lather chamber;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail sectional View of the water valve; K

Figure '7 is an exterior view 'of the lower portion o-f the machinelshowing the operating lever and the lather dispensing spout; and,`

Figure 8 is a wiring diagram of the moto-r and heat control circuits.

The novel apparatus herein disclosed is shown comprising a casing,generally designated by the numeral 2, having a water chamber 3 in itsupper portion and alather chamber 4 in its lower portion. The waterchamber is disposed substantially above the lather chamber 4, wherebyWater may flow by gravity from the water chamber to the lather chamber.To conduct water from the water chamber to the lather chamber, asuitable conduit 5 is shown leading from the bottom of the water chamber.to a horizontal duct 6 having an upright end portion .'l, which is opento the lather chamber 4, as clearly illustrated in Figure 1. Thehorizontal duct 5 and upright duct 'l are shown provided in a capV 8,which forms the bottom wall of the lather chamber 4, and is secured inYposition by suitable screws 9, inV a manner' to provide` aleak proofconnection between the cover 8 and that portion of the casing wallagainst which it is seated.

A suitable lather mixer or agitator, generally designated by the numeralI I, is mounted in the lather chamber 4, and is shown comprising acylindrical member l2 formed with a hub I3, bored to receive the lowerend of a shaft I4, supported in a suitable bearing I5. The shaft I4 isdriven by a motor, generally indicated by the numeral I6, supported inalchamber I1 provided in the casing 2 directly above the lather chamber4. The hub I3 of the Jtubular member I2 may be secured to the motorshaft I4 by a suitable screw I8, best shown `inf Figure 1. The member I2is provided with a plurality of brush elements I9 spirally arrangedthereon in a direction to cause the lather in the chamber 4 to workupwardly therein to a suitable dispensing spout 2 I shown in Figure 3.The brush elements I9 are in the form of independent tufts of bristles,suitably secured to the member I2 and arranged in a spiral thereon, asbest shown in Figure 3. v

Means is provided for supporting a bar of soap 22 in position to be fedin a direction towards the agitator II, and comprises an offset chamber23 which is open at its inner end to the lather chamber 4, and isadapted to support the bar of soap 22, whereby the soap constitutes awall portion of the cylindrical lather chamber 4. Opposltely disposedsupporting pins 24 are secured in the side walls of the housing 2 toform abutment means against which the bar of soap 22 is seated, as bestshown in Figure 5. y

A spring-actuated plate 25 is seated against the outer surface of thesoap bar, and has a stem 26 slidably received in a cover member 21,which is detachably secured to the projecting wall portion 28 of thecasing, as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 5. A suitable packing or sealinggasket or washer 29 is shown seatedY against the outer surface of thedisk or plate 25 and is held in position thereon by a plate 3l, betweenwhich and the disk 25, the sealing element is clamped by a suitablescrew 32. The screw 32 is 4received in threaded engagement with theinner end of the stem 26, and secures the disk, sealing element 29, andplate 3| thereto. The stem 26 is shown provided with a head 33, wherebythe stem cannot become separated from the cover 21, when the latter isremoved from the casing.

A suitable spring 34 is interposed between the plate 3l and the cover 21and constantly urges the disk 25 in an inward direction to automaticallyfeed the soap to the brush-like agitator Il. as will readily beunderstood by reference to Figure 5.

The machine herein disclosed is designed for using soap bars ofconventional size and shape. After a soap bar has been inserted into themachine, it may become sufficiently softened from the water or moisturein the lather chamber to cause the supporting pins 24 to press into thesoap, as a result of the pressure induced against the soap by the spring34, as shown'at 35 in Figure 5. To facilitate loading the machine with afresh bar of soap,'the stem 26 is shown provided with an annulargroove/36 adapted to receive a washer 30, when the stem 26 is pulledoutwardly to the dotted line position, shown in Figure 5, whereby thestem is locked against inward movement, thereby to facilitate securingthe cover 21 in position onV the machine housing.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the means providedfor controlling the is adapted to be engaged by supply of water to thelather chamber, whereby additional water is delivered to the latherchamber each time the machine is operated to dispense a portion oflather from the dispensing spout 2l.

The means provided for thus controlling the delivery of water from thewater chamber 3 to the lather chamber 4, is best shown in Figures 1, 4,and 6, and comprises a spring actuated valve 31 secured to a stem 38,slidably supported in a retaining sleeve 39. The sleeve 39 has athreaded portion 4I received in threaded engagementwith a bushing 42which, in turn, is received in threaded engagement with the wall of theupper portion of the upright water supply conduit 5.

The valve 31v is normally retained in closed position against the lowerend of the supporting sleeve 39 by a suitable spring 43 having one endseated against a collar 44 secured to the valvestem 38, and its lowerend against a partition 45 provided in the supporting sleeve 39. Theupper end of the valve stem 38 projects above the Vbushing 42 and on itis a head 46 which the lower end portion 41 of a valve operating member,generally designated by the numeral 48.

The valve operating members 48, as best shown in Figure 4, is U-,shapedin form and comprises a leg 49 which extends downwardly into the waterchamber from the upper portion thereof and has its lower end portion 41positioned over the protruding head 46 of the valve stem 38. The otherleg 5I of the U-shaped valve operating d member 48 is shown having anaxial bore 52 in its upper end adapted to receive the downwardly bentend portion 53 of the leg 48. The upper bored end of the leg 5l issplit, as shown in Figure 4, and is eXteriorly threaded to receive aclamping nut 54, whereby the depending end portion 53 of the leg 49 maybe adiustably secured to the leg 5I. The nut 54 is engaged with themember 5I by a tapered thread, whereby the nut will cause the split wallsections of the upper end of the leg 5| to frictionally grip the portion53 of the leg 49.

A short rod or pin 55 is shown secured to the lower endof the leg 5l, bysuch means as a screw 56. One end of the rod 55 projects through a slot51 in a wall of the casing, and is provided with' a iinger grip 58,located exteriorly of the housing at an elevation below the dispensingspout 2l, whereby it may be conveniently actuated by the back of theoperators hand, when it is desired to receive a charge of lather, asbest shown in Figure 7. The inner end of the rod 55 is engaged with aswitch operating lever 59 mounted for pivotal movement on a pivot 6I,and which carries a mercury switch 62 interposed in the motor circuit,subsequently to be described.

The motor circuit, as best shown in Figure 8, comprises wires 63 and 64leading respectively to terminals 65 and 66, which may be mounted in asuitable terminal block 61. The terminal 65 is shown electricallyconnected to a wire 68 of a supply circuit 15, the other wire 69 ofwhich is connected to a terminal 1I, also mounted on the terminal block61. The mercury switch 62 is shown connected by wires 12 and 13 to theterminals 66 and 1I, respectively, whereby it will be noted that themercury switch' is, in effect, connected in series with one side of themotor. (Wires 64, 13 and 12.) The mercury switch 62 is so mounted on thearm 59, that it is normally readapted to be operated by the back of thehand` tained in circuit opening position byl gravity. Thus,l when lthemercury switch lis in .its open position, as shown in full lines inFigures-1 and 8, the supply of current to the motor is `cut oil',whereby the machine is at rest.

Means is provided for warming thewater in the water chamber 3, and isshown comprising a heating element 14 connected in parallel with thesupply circ-uit 15, by suitable Wires 16 and 1T. ByVv thus connectingthe heating element to the -supply circuitV l5, lthe heating element isconstantly on, so long as the supply circuit is connectedto a source ofelectric current. The heating element T4, it will be noted by referenceto Figure 1, is located below the water chamber 3, whereby the bottomwall of the water chamber is constantly maintained at a temperature tosurliciently warm the water in the water chamber 3.

The upper `end portion 18 of the motor shaft f4 is' shown suitablysupported in an end cap 19 secured to the upper cylindrical wall portion80 of the housing by suitable screws Bi. A Vcover member 82 is removablytted to the upper portion of the housing 2, asshown in Figures 1 and 4,and provides a closure for the water chamber and upper portion of, themotor I6.

In the operation of the novel lather dispenser herein disclosed, Wateris introduced into the water chamber 3,`as shown in Figure l, and a barof soap is inserted .into the opening 83 of the lather chamber, it beingunderstood that the cover 21 is removed from the housing, when insertinga new bar of soap into the lather chamber. When the soap is initiallyinserted` into the opening 83, its inner face or 'end will engage thepins 24 and tfh'e cover member 2T is then replaced on the housing withthe circular disk 25 engaging the soap bar, as shown in Figures 41 and5. The spring 34 urges the soap bar forwardly into engagement with thepins 24, whereby the soap is so positioned that when the agitator orbrush member I2 is rotated, the tufts of bristles IQ, will wipe acrossthe inner surface of the soap and thereby remove` portions thereof whichwill be intermixed with the water delivered into the bottom of thelatherl chamber, thereby to form a thick, rich,Y lather. The arrangementof Vthe brush elements YI9 on the cylindrical member I2 of the agitator!I, is such that the water in the bottom of the chamber is workedupwardly over the surface of the soap by the rotary action of the.brushor agitator. H', wherebya lather is quickly formed within thechamber 4 which, upon continued operation of the agitator, willdischarge from the dispensing nozzle 2i into the operators hand, as willbe readily understood. by reference to Figure 7.

To prevent water and thin lather from discharging from the spout 2| bythe rotary action of the brush Il, a suitable restraining ledge 20' is.

provided 'at the receiving end of the dispensing spout 2l, asbestshownin Figure 3, which serves to check any water whic-hmay be workedupwardly over the surface of the lather chamber wall by thecentrifugalaction of the brush. The ledge 211 also acts to partiallyrestrain the iiow of lather from the lather chamber, whereby the soapand water are .thoroughly intermixed to` produce a thick lather beforelather is discharged. from the dispensing spout.

The water control valve is operated Iby the valve operating member 48each time the operating lever 58 is depressed to .close the` switchSZand start the motor I6.. The operating lever 58. 'is

or iingers, as shown in Figure '7, as the operator holds his hand underthe dispensing spout 2l to receive a charge of lather. As soon as theoperator releases the operating lever `5B, the anerc-ury switch 62 willreturn to its normal open position, as shown in Figures 1 and 8, wherebythe supply f current to the motor is interrupted, thereby to interruptrotation of the agitator Il.

The quantity of water delivered into the lather chamber each time theoperating lever 5S is operated, may be conveniently varied by adjustmentup or down of the end 53 of leg 4s of the U-shaped member '58 in theupper end of the leg 5i, when the cover 82 is removed. The leg 5|, asshown in Figure 4, 's slidably supported in a suitable guide S. providedin one of the side walls. of the housing 2. The water control valve issimilar to an ordinary tire valve, whereby it may be manufactured atsmall cost.

An important feature of the invention as hereinbefore stated, resides inthe novel arrangement of the water conduit leading from the waterchamber 3 to the lather chamber 4, whereby it will-be noted that thewater is brought into the lather chamber from the bottom thereof,thereby eliminating all danger of Water getting into the lower bearingi5 of the motor. The cap or closure 8 which 'ormsthe bottomwal of thelather chamber 4, is shown provided lwith a centraly disposed raisedportion i. having an air vent 35 therein, the upper end kof which isspaced upu wardly from .the :bottom wall of the lather chamber, asclearly'illustrated in Figure l. The upper end .of ,the raised portion86 is spaced well above the bottom wall of the lather chamber to preventwater delivered into the lather chamber from discharging through the airvent 85.

The discharge end of the upright portion 'I of the water conduitcommunicates with a small channel 8l provided in the top face oi theraisedportion of the cover 3. The channel 81=is directed inthe directiono1" rotation of the chamber i2, as indicated by the arrow in Figure 5,whereby the water conduit 'i is not likely to. become .clogged fromlather which may enter the cylindrical' member i2 of the agitator` il.The portion 88 of the cover member S is also shown provided with avertically disposed knife f edge .89,-l Which operates to scrape orremove accumulations of soap or lather from the interior wall of therotary member i2, as will readily be understood by reference` to Figure5.

The. novel soap dispensing apparatus herein disclosed, is. extremelysimple and inexpensive in construction in that the entire housing,including the cover members 2l, and 82, may be -molded from afsuitableplastic material, such as Bakelite. The water chamber (i, latherchambei` .4, and motor cham-ber il, are all integrally formedin thehousing, as shown in Fig-ure l, whereby the operation of assembling theapparatus .is extremely simple and inexpensive. The agitator or rotary'brush ii may readiiy be removed from .the motor shaft ,i :i by simplyremoving the caps B and 2'! fromthe housing, and then removingthe soap.When these parts are removed, -the look screw iE securing the agitator ii to the motor shaft, it maybe loosened to permit the :agitator to. beremoved from the motor shaft I4.

The mercury switch 62 `which controls the flow of current to the motormay be ofconventional construction, and is adapted for tilting movement.

motor I6. It is also to be understood that the motor is of conventionalwell-known construction and it is therefore thought unnecessary tofurther illustrate and describe the same in detail.

The heating element 14, as previously stated, is continually on, whenthe service cord or supply circuit l5 is connected with a source ofelectric energy, whereby the water in the water chamber 3 will always bemaintained at substantially constant temperature.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that we haveaccomplished at least the principal objects of our invention, and itwill also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodimentsherein described may be variously changed and modiiied, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and that the invention iscapable of uses and has advantages not herein speciically described;hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodiments areillustrative only, and that our invention is not limited thereto.

We claim as our invention:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, one-piece casing providing awater chamber and a lather chamber having soap holding means associatedtherewith, a conduit for conducting water from the water chamber intothe lower portion of the lather chamber, a valve in saidv condfuit,lather forming means in the lather chamber including a motor having acontrol switch, an operating lever for the control switch, and aU-shaped valve operating member having one leg operatively connected tosaid lever and having its other leg depending into the water chamber andpositioned to engage and open the valve to admit rwater into the latherchamber, each time the lever is operated to close the motor switch.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a casing having a waterchamber in its upper portion and a lather chamber in its lower portion,lather producing means in the lather chamber, a conduit for conductingwater from the water chamber into the lower portion of the latherchamber, a spring-actuated valve in said conduit, a motor for operatingthe lather producing means, a normally open control switch for saidmotor, an operating lever for the control switch,

and a U-shaped valve operating member having one leg operativelyconnected to said lever and having its other leg depending into thewater chamber and positioned to engage and open the valve to admit waterinto the lather chamber, each time the lever is operated to close themotor switch.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, a casing providing a waterchamber and a lather chamber, soap holding means associated therewith, aconduit for conducting water from the water chamber into the lowerportion of the lather chamber, a normally closed valve in said conduit,lather forming means including a motor, a normally open control switchfor the motor, an operating lever for the control switch, an elongatedmember mounted for sliding movement in the casing and having its lowerend connected to the operating lever, and an element having one endadjustably connected to the upper end of said member and having itsopposite end positioned to engage and open the valve, each time thelever is operated to close the motor switch.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, va

casing providing water and lather chambers, soap holding meansassociated with the lather chamber, a conduit for conducting water fromthe water chamber into the lower portion of the lather chamber, anormally closed spring-actuated valve in said conduit, lather formingmeans including a motor, a normally open control switch for the motor, alever pivoted intermediate its ends and supporting the control switch atone end, an operating member secured to the oppositie end of the leverand conveniently positioned eXteriorly of the casing, an elongatedmember mounted for sliding movement in the casing and having its lowerend operatively connected to the operating member, the upper end of saidelongated member terminating adjacent to the upper edge of the wall ofthe water chamber, and a stem having one end adjustably secured to theupper end of the elongated member and extending downwardly into thewater chamber and having its lower terminal positioned to engage andopen the valve, each time the operating member is operated to close theswitch.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, a casing providing a waterchamber and a lather chamber having a dispensing spout, a soap receivingchamber in communication with the lather chamber, abutment means in thesoap chamber adjacent to the lather chamber, a valved conduit forconducting water from the water chamber into the lower portion of thelather chamber, a rotary bnush in the lather chamber, a motor fordriving said brush, said brush being mounted to engage the soap andintermix portions thereof with water to form a lather, a control switchfor the motor, an operating lever for the control switch, and means forconstantly urging the soap bar into engagement with the abutment meanswhereby it is automatically fed to the brush, as it is graduallyconsumed thereby.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, a casing providing a waterchamber and a lather chamber having a dispensing spout, a soap receivingchamber in communication with the lather chamber, abutment pins in thesoap chamber adjacent to the lather chamber, a valved conduit forconducting water from the water chamber into the lower portion of thelather chamber, a rotary bnush in the lather chamber, a motor fordriving said brush, said brush being mounted to engage the soap andintermix portions thereof with water to form a lather, a control switchfor the motor, an operating lever for the control' switch, aspringpressed plate for constantly urging the soap bar into engagementwith the abutment pins whereby it is automatically fed to the brush, andmeans for warming the Water in the water chamber.

'7. In an apparatus of the class described, a casing providing water andlather chambers, a soap chamber in communication with the latherchamber, means to support bar of soap whereby a portion of the soap isexposed to the lather chamber, the soap chamber having a detachablecover forming a wall thereof whereby access may be had to said chamber,abutment means in the soap chamber for limiting inward movement of thesoap bar, a conduit for conducting water from the water chamber into thelower portion of the lather chamber, lather forming means in the latherchamber, a motor for driving the lather forming means, a control switchfor said motor, an operating member for the control switch convenientlypositioned exteriorly of the casing, and spring actuated soap feedingmeans carried by said detachable cover for automatically feeding thesoap into the lather chamber, as it is gradually consumed by the latherforming means.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, a casing providing a Waterchamber and a lather chamber, a lather dispensing spout in communicationwith the upper portion of the lather chamber, means for supporting a barof soap in exposed relation to the lather chamber, means for deliveringWater into the lower portion of the lather chamber, a rotatable brush inthe lather chamber, means to press the soap against the 10 producelather.

MELVIN ROLSTAD. HARRY E. CULLEN.

